HP and the Return From The Plains Of Misery
by Celtic Ember
Summary: Dumbledore's research into Avada Kedavra discovers a way for people to be brought back from banishment to the Plains of Misery. The first people he brings back- Lily and James Potter. **~CHAPTER 16 NOW UP~** COMPLETE!!
1. The Parents Who Lived

CHAPTER ONE  
  
Shattered. Completely empty. Hollow. Those were the only words that 15-year- old Harry Potter could think of as he drove with his aunt and uncle back towards Kings Cross. He hated the knowledge that the school he would return to was still in shock from the events of last term. Even more, he hated the fact that he was partially responsible for those events. But there was nothing he could do about it now. He hated his aunt and uncle with a passion, and Hogwarts was, after all, his home. He perked up at the thought of seeing his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, when he boarded the Hogwarts Express. He hadn't been permitted to go visit the Burrow this past summer, and because of that he was feeling quite lonely. He also hadn't been allowed to go to Diagon Alley so he was going to have to take a secret trip to Hogsmeade to replenish his supplies. On second thought, perhaps he would just ask Dumbledore for permission. He didn't really fancy being killed by Voldemort while he was buying potions ingredients.  
  
Voldemort. Harry's face tightened, and he rubbed the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. He was the reason that everything was so horrid. He was the reason Harry had spent ten years of his life in a place where no one could stand him. He was the reason Cedric Diggory had died. Harry had to keep telling himself that. For if it wasn't Voldemort's fault, then it was Harry's, and he couldn't stand that much blood on his name. The car stopped. Harry unloaded his things himself, gave his aunt a clipped goodbye, and then pushed his trolley toward the barrier. He would see Ron and Hermione soon. Maybe if he concentrated on them, he wouldn't be so apprehensive about going back.  
  
"Harry! Over here!" Harry turned to see his two best friends closer to the train. He looked at them, and did a double take. He could not be seeing what he thought he was seeing. Rubbing his glasses, he put them on again. He was. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, his best friends, were holding hands.  
  
Perhaps the very first real smile since the summer started graced his face, and he pushed his trolley over to them.  
  
"It seems you two have been making better use of this summer then I thought. Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, pleased to see the red creeping up Ron's ears. Hermione giggled, in an embarrassed sort of way.  
  
"Well, he didn't ask me until I saw him this morning at breakfast," she said lightly, turning as red as Ron.  
  
"Well, at least some of us had a good summer," Harry commented wryly. Then, mood lightening, he demanded his friends help in carrying his stuff up to the train. They climbed aboard, Ginny right behind them, and the train chugged off.  
  
"Was it that horrible, Harry, this summer?" The question came from Ginny, and Harry was glad for the distraction. He had gotten up to find the loo, and he came back to discover Ron and Hermione snogging. It was funny, but he also had the distinct feeling of being a third wheel. They had quit very quickly when they heard him come in, but the uncomfortable feeling remained.  
  
"Nah, not them really, I just hated the fact that I couldn't go anywhere. I discovered something interesting, though. Do you remember me telling you about old Mrs. Figg, whom the Dursleys's would always leave me with?"  
  
"Yes. Why?" Ginny responded.  
  
"It turns out that she's a squib by the name of Arabella Figg."  
  
"No! Why didn't she tell you who you were?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Direct orders from Dumbledore. He didn't want to make me any more of a target."  
  
"Neat!" Ginny said before a devilish look crossed her face. "So, did my dearest older brother over there bother to tell you about the many times I caught him snogging Hermione this summer?"  
  
"Must have forgotten. Do tell."  
  
Harry and Ginny were so wrapped up in their conversation they didn't notice the dagger looks being aimed at them. Not like they would have cared, anyway. They were having far to good of time together.  
  
The four of them caught a carriage together up to the castle. Ron and Hermione had become quite distant to Harry and Ginny, so they continued the conversation of various summer exploits right up to the main entrance. Professor McGonagall walked up to them, and they all noticed that there was an odd light in her eye, something almost like triumph.  
  
"Potter, You will follow me, please. Move along, the rest of you. I will return him to you soon." Ron, Hermione and Ginny wordlessly obeyed. None of them wanted to challenge McGonagall, especially as they'd never seen that look on her face before.  
  
She brought Harry to Dumbledore's office and up the flight of stairs into his waiting room. There were two other people in that waiting room, but they were very still and covered with cloaks. Hoods covering their faces prevented Harry from being able to tell who they were. Puffing, two others soon arrived. Harry gave a delighted shout as his godfather, Sirius, and Professor Lupin entered the room.  
  
"Is it true, Harry? Is it really true?" Sirius asked him.  
  
McGonagall stepped in. "Harry has not been told why he has been brought here. I wanted you two here first." Harry became more confused. Obviously, it was important, and just as obviously, it concerned something Sirius really cared about. Understanding started to dawn.  
  
"Professor, is this about my parents?" he asked, almost scared of the answer. Dumbledore came out of his inner office, and his blue eyes were sparkling more merrily then Harry had ever seen.  
  
"Minerva, if you would remove the cloaks, please, we can answer both questions at once." He looked like an overgrown schoolboy, except for the wrinkles that time and stress had worn into his face.  
  
She lifted the cloaks, and there, in perfect health, stood Lily and James Potter. Harry just stood there, and drank in the sight of his parents. Sirius and Lupin were not so restrained, however. With a whoop, they collapsed on the floor. Neither of them was sure that they could believe the miracle in front of them.  
  
"Enervate." Dumbledore whispered, and Harry's parents rushed towards him. Enveloped in a tight embrace, he allowed himself to break down. 


	2. Catching Up Confusion

Many hours later, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room. James and Lily, who weren't letting him out of their sight, accompanied him. That was more then OK with him. He was still amazed at the fact that his parents were alive. Dumbledore had explained why.  
  
"You see, everyone, we often wondered why people who were killed by the Avada Kedavra curse still seemed to be in perfect health, even though they were dead. I started to research into it. My research paid off just yesterday, when I discovered in an ancient scroll that it does not kill them, as previously thought. It transports the cursed to a barren plain, where the souls are doomed to live forever. This is why the bodies decompose at such a slow rate. Hoping that I would one day be able to revive the Potters, along with others who died far before their time, I petrified the corpses and had them hidden. It sounds ghoulish, I know, but it meant that I could return people to their bodies."  
  
Harry stayed very quiet after this explanation. "So, if Mum and Dad are alive, then how old are they, exactly?"  
  
Lily laughed. "Harry, haven't you learned to never ask a lady her age?" At her son's blush, she smiled. "Our bodies are about 22. Mentally, though, we kept right on ageing."  
  
Harry nodded. It would be easier to get used to if his parents weren't as young as they looked.  
  
Since James and Lily didn't want to leave their son again, James took the DADA position, once again vacated, and Lily became the substitute Potions instructor, since Snape was on Sabbatical in order to spy on Voldemort. Harry couldn't have been more delighted. After just getting his parents back, he wasn't too keen on having to leave them again for ten months of the year.  
  
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were waiting up for him. Since it was after eleven, this wasn't quite allowed, but they were all worried. Harry hadn't turned up for the feast at all. They saw the glowing look on Harry's face, and everything else was immaterial. None of them had seen him look this happy since he won the Quidditch cup. That in itself was enough to take the worry off their faces. When they looked up to see who had accompanied their friend into the portrait hole, they were stunned. Ginny didn't recognize them because she hadn't seen Harry's book with the pictures of his parents in them, but the resemblance to Harry was unmistakable.  
  
"Guys, I would like you to meet my," Harry tripped over the word, "parents, James and Lily Potter. Mom, Dad, these three are my best friends Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Ron's younger sister Ginny."  
  
The affect that these words had on his friends was even more then Harry hoped. Hermione got out of Ron's lap and ran up to hug Harry. Ron merely sat, open mouthed, on the chair. Ginny let out a squeal and came skittering over to James.  
  
"Mr. Potter, you have no idea how happy we are for Harry. He's had such a horrible time of it, it's about time something wonderful happened. But how?"  
  
She echoed the thoughts that Ron and Hermione were to afraid to voice.  
  
Harry repeated what Dumbledore had told him, and Ron's face lit up.  
  
"Harry! This means that Cedric can come back, too!" Harry shook his head, sadly. The crushing weight seemed twice as heavy, now that he had his parents back.  
  
"No. The Diggory's wouldn't permit his body to be frozen. It's in too bad of shape. If he did come back, he would only be a ghost." His mother reached over to comfort him, and for the first time in fourteen years, Harry could allow himself to cry in his mother's arms. Ron ran upstairs, and fetched a book that Harry didn't know he had. It was filled with wizard photographs that Colin Creevy had taken of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. There were also photos of Ginny, the Burrow, and Quidditch World Cup. All of Harry's Hogwarts years were documented in them. Somehow, there were also pictures of Harry as a small child, straight through until he came to Hogwarts. Through his tears, he looked at Ron in confusion.  
  
"The ones at school were taken by Hermione, me, and Colin. Mrs. Figg and Dumbledore took the others. This was going to be your seventeenth birthday present, but I don't think that Dumbledore will mind. After all, you'll want to show your parents what you looked like before you became the tall, skinny nuisance we know and love today, eh?" Ron's ears were turning red. Hermione pulled him onto the couch and gave him a big, sloppy kiss right there.  
  
"I didn't know that's what you wanted them for! Oh Ron!" And with that she started to cry, and disappeared up the stairs.  
  
"I knew she'd gone barkers when she started dating you, Ron." Harry emerged from his mother's embrace to crack.  
  
"Your welcome. Come, Ginny, we have class in the morning." He pulled his protesting sister up the stairs.  
  
Five minutes later, a seething Ginny reappeared.  
  
"The prat forgot that I use a different staircase." She said, turning pink. In actuality, she could have made it to the girls' dorms using one of the highly useful secret passageways between the two that Fred and George showed her, but she wanted to say goodnight to Harry.  
  
"Harry?" She said, not wanting to break anything up.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Good night. You may want to get to bed soon as well, seeing as you have double potions first thing. Snape would love to dock you points." Harry nodded.  
  
"Will do. Good night, Ginny." She grinned, and headed up her staircase.  
  
His parents were leafing through the pictures that Ron had pasted into the book. They had started with the most recent, and were working their way back. Harry wiggled his way between them. His father put his arm around him. They looked at pictures of Harry, Ron and Hermione taken at the Yule ball, just before the huge row that gave Ron away. Ron was casting resentful looks at Hermione, beside him, while Harry was obviously trying not to laugh. Hermione was shooting the same looks at Ron. More and more photos, of him grinning while holding the cup winning snitch in his hand, and lying on the ground with his glasses and arm broken. Even the one that Lockhart had forced him to stand still for was there. He wasn't in it, though. Only his arm was, and even that was straining to get away.  
  
Then they arrived at the ones taken by Mrs. Figg and Dumbledore. They showed Harry cleaning up, Harry getting beaten up, Harry locked in his cupboard. They also showed Aunt Petunia's disapproval, and the living room with all the pictures of Dudley, and none of him.  
  
It took a second for his parents to digest this information. Then-  
  
"You went to Petunia? Where was Sirius? Or Remus? Or ANYONE ELSE, for that matter, except for that horrid sister of mine? When I get through with her I'll.." Lily woke all of Gryffindor House before Harry and James could quiet her. A few of the braver ones started to emerge to discover what the crazy woman in the common room was yelling about. None of them knew precisely what was going on, but it seemed like a good idea to find out. 


	3. Cracking Eardrums

A/N- Since most of this story was written at once, it's a little difficult to find good places for chapter breaks. So, if it seems a little awkward, I apologize. Thank you to all my reviewers! On with the story.  
  
  
  
"Omigod! That can't be who I think it is. Is it?" George said loudly. Harry grinned, for that had just about been George's reaction to him, too.  
  
James turned to Lily. "Honey, you have got to get a hold on your temper. Now look what you've done. Dammit. Harry, introduce us, please." James gave a weary sigh, and then grinned. Lily's fiery spirit hadn't been tamed the whole time they had spent in that ghastly place.  
  
"All right everyone, calm down. Through a classified means, Dumbledore managed to return my parents to this plane of existence. These are my Mom and Dad, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. In reverse order, this is Dean, Seamus, Neville, ..." He ignored the gasp that followed this announcement.  
  
"Longbottom?" James asked, catching a name that he knew. He and Frank Longbottom had been friends after he left school, and he remembered a son Harry's age. Harry nodded, then shook his head slightly. No one but Harry knew why Neville had been raised by his grandmother. James caught his son's minute gesture and wisely chose not to pursue that line of questioning. Harry finished introducing the people in the common room  
  
"And these are Fred, George, Lavender, Pavarti, and Marie." Lily smiled, and apologized to them all. She then sent them all back to bed with a speed Harry was jealous of. They didn't listen to him like that, and he was a Prefect!  
  
"Harry, come upstairs. I'll tuck you all in and then your father and I will find our own quarters. " Harry didn't want to go anywhere, but it had been a long day, and he was tired. He obeyed, and went upstairs to his dorm, his mother and father at his heels.  
  
He opened his trunk to take out his pajamas, and then realized that he should return three things to his parents. First, the key to the safe in Gringotts. Second, the Invisibility cloak, and third, the Marauder's Map. Harry didn't care about the key, but it was going to be difficult to part with the map and the cloak. They made rule breaking rather handy, and he had had some good times with them. He turned around, and slipped the map into the cloaks pocket. He turned to his father.  
  
"Dad, I have a few things here that I think belong to you. Here." He slid the cloak into his fathers arms, and whispered, "Check the pockets." He handed the key over to his mother. She smiled at him, knowing that if he was as much like his father as he seemed, giving up the two best tools to rule breaking would be quite a tear. She had no doubt that the Marauders Map was what was in the pockets of the cloak, though she had no idea how. That idiot Wormtail had lost it years ago.  
  
His father slipped the cloak on, and disappeared. His mother giggled, and Harry quickly changed. His mother opened the curtains of his bed, and tenderly tucked the covers around him. Although he was a little embarrassed, it was too nice to know that he could have this now. He never knew what it was like to have parents around. He would explain why Sirius couldn't take him in. He also knew that Lupin couldn't because the wolfsbane potion hadn't been invented until he turned five, and it still made it impossible to keep from transforming into a wolf. Harry snuggled in, and gave both his parents a kiss goodnight. He fell asleep quickly, and for the first time in three months, he slept through the night.  
  
Lily and James waited until his even breathing told them he was asleep, and then disappeared under the cloak. They headed straight for Dumbledore's office. Both were fuming at the thought that he let their defenseless son stay at the Dursley's, and they wanted an explanation.  
  
The headmaster ushered them back into his office, and then began to update them on what happened to the world after they left it. He told them of Voldemort's first downfall, and the subsequent years. He told of his second rise, and the part Harry was forced to play. He told them what happened to Sirius, who had gone home with Lupin to a cottage in Hogsmeade. Growing hoarse, he told them why Harry and been left to grow up in the less then tender hands of Lily's sister.  
  
"It was the only way to keep him safe. He had to stay in the care of someone who had the same blood running through their veins. Your parents were all dead, and neither of you had any living siblings. The Dursley's were my only choice. The heir of Griffindor had to survive. Even I could not fully protect him. I assure you, if there had been any other choice, I would have taken it. Now, Lily, you have a class at eight am. As do you, James. I heard of the incident in the Griffindor common room, so you will be using your real names. I rather regret that, as our little Slytherin spies will give notice to Voldemort at once, but there is no helping it. And so I suggest that you find your rest, for it will be a long day for us all."  
  
Harry awoke in his bed very early the next morning, afraid that the night before was just a dream. He ran to his trunk, and sure enough the cloak and map were exactly where they were supposed to be. He sank down onto the carpet and started to cry.  
  
Ron heard him, and crawled out of bed to shush him up.  
  
"You silly git, what are you crying about? Not everyone's parents come back from the dead, you know. You should be happy." Harry looked at his friend so intensely it made Ron very uncomfortable.  
  
"Tell me it wasn't a dream. Tell me they are alive, and my dad just put these back into my trunk. Tell me." The words came out in a harsh whisper, and Ron realized why his friend had been crying. Patting his back awkwardly, he verified that Lily and James had indeed returned. The change that came over his best friend was remarkable. The tears instantly dried, and Harry put on his clothing with record speed.  
  
"Come on, Ron. I want to go have my first breakfast with my parents, and I'm starving." Ron refrained from mentioning that Harry must have eaten breakfast when he was a baby. He was being pulled too hard down the stairs.  
  
They were among the first ones in the Great Hall to eat. The only teachers there were Dumbledore, Lily, James, and McGonagall. Harry went running up to the head table, and was promptly enveloped into another hug by his mother. He was glad that most of his school mates weren't up yet.  
  
"Good morning, Harry dear! Have a good sleep?" She asked, barely able to believe that this young man was the same person as the baby she had held in her arms that terrible night. Harry smiled up at her, looking almost exactly like his father. She let go, and sent him over to the Gryffindors.  
  
An excited murmur came over the hall as students started coming into breakfast. Bleary eyes were rubbed, and everyone started casting quick glances at Harry. Dumbledore had posted notices in all the common rooms that an important announcement would be made at eight fifteen. By then, most students were in the hall, and all had noticed the strangers at the head table. Some seventh years could vaguely remember those faces from Daily Prophet articles when they were very small, but no one could mistake the resemblance between the two people and Harry Potter. When Dumbledore stood up, an instant quiet fell over the hall. Even the Slytherins were subdued, but that could be due to the fact that Snape was not in attendance.  
  
A/N- Well? What did you think? Good enough for a review? Bad enough for a review? Then leave one! 


	4. Neville's Best Potions Class

A/N- Well, here we are at chapter 4. Warning- My lame attempt at a cliffhanger is at the end of this chapter.  
  
  
  
Everyone was quick to notice that although their headmaster's visage was stern, his eyes were twinkling. Speculation showed on several students faces. Finally, Dumbledore began to speak.  
  
"Students, I have a very important announcement to make. For some of you, this will be life changing. For others, it is a reminder of hard times. Ladies and gentleman, It gives me great joy to announce that I have finally found the reversal for the Avada Kedavra curse. As it is a complicated process, I will simplify it for you. What was formerly believed to be the killing curse was actually a curse that transported the cursed onto the Plains of Misery, and left their bodies unharmed. However, without a consciousness to sustain it, the body dies, and the curse becomes irreversible. If the body is petrified with twelve hours of death, it is possible to return the spirit to it. That is what has been done with the two new professors that you see at the table today. Students, I would like to introduce Professor James Potter, who will be taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, and Professor Lily Potter, who will be our permanent substitute, as many of your teachers will have other things they must do. For now, she will be teaching potions. I'm sure you will want to meet them, but for now, at least, give them some room. With that said, off to your classes!"  
  
An excited babble broke out, and everyone started to get up to go. Hermione and Ron stood on either side of Harry, like a gauntlet to guard him from everyone's questions. It was nice to know that he wasn't going to be completely left out now that his two best friends were officially an item, thought Harry. Since they had all already grabbed their books from their dormitories, they set off toward the dungeons.  
  
"You know, I think that this is actually the first time I've ever looked foreword to a Potions lesson!" Harry commented. The other two agreed. Ron shook his red head so profusely that his hair all fell into his face.  
  
"Ron! Your hair is messier then Harry's! Come here!" Hermione was quite perturbed, and performed a neatening charm on him. His hair swooped back into a neatly combed mat, his robes straightened, and the spot he had gotten from his breakfast disappeared. He turned to her and scowled.  
  
"You're not my mum, you know. So stop acting like her!" Hermione gave a sniff, and Harry was momentarily forgotten. Not like it mattered, since they arrived in the potions dungeon right after. Harry was actually kind of glad to hear them bicker. It meant that nothing had changed drastically. He was grinning as he walked into the classroom.  
  
His mother was already there, wearing green robes that matched her eyes. Harry was happy to notice that. It was one thing to always be told that he had his mother's eyes. It was completely different to see it for himself. He sat in his usual spot, and then noticed that Ron and Hermione were sitting together. He wryly recognized that he was now the singleton in their group. Normally, Ron would sit beside him, and leave Hermione sitting by Neville. Not this time. He wondered if this was how Hermione felt for the past four years. Then he had no time to wonder, because his mother was starting the class.  
  
"Hello! I see no real need to introduce myself again, as the headmaster did such a fine job at breakfast. However, I see one or two faces here that apparently slept in this morning, so I will do it again. For those of you who missed breakfast, I'm Professor Potter. Since I've no desire for your to hand in your DADA assignments to me, however, I'm going to make a slight change. You can address me as Professor Lily, or even just Mrs. Potter. But that is a privilege, ladies and gentleman. And if I feel that there is horseplay, or anything else endangering, that will change. You have my trust. Don't lose it."  
  
The class sat quietly, not sure where she would go next. The Slytherins were almost subdued, and that was a change. Most of them were among those who had chosen to ignore the notices, and so had no idea of the advances that Dumbledore had made. Malfoy looked almost sick when he realized who was in front of his once favorite class. For him it was no doubt like seeing a ghost. Lily deliberately ignored this.  
  
"Now, I'm told that your potions master for the past four years has been Professor Snape. I can assure you that I will be much different, but I'm not permanent. I am the permanent substitute. That's all. I follow his notes, and they say we'll be brewing an Alarm potion. Can anyone tell me what that is?"  
  
Not surprisingly, Hermione's hand shot into the air. However, so did Neville's. Apparently he felt much braver when Snape wasn't around. Lily recognized this, and called on him. Since he was sitting next to Harry at the back of the room, no one had noticed him raise his hand. Nineteen heads swiveled around to look at him when Lily called out,  
  
"Mr. Longbottom?" Neville looked slightly pink, and stammered out his answer.  
  
"It's…it's for alerting a witch or…or wizard when someone or something evil is around." He looked surprised at his own daring.  
  
"Correct! Ten points for Griffindor! Now, everyone take out your books and flip to page eighty-three. The person with the best potion will be exempt from tonight's assignment." Everyone turned to partner up with Hermione or Malfoy, since they were the best two at potions. Much to every Gryffindor's dismay, Hermione was already happily at work with Ron. Harry sighed again, and turned to Neville.  
  
"Hey, do you want to be my partner?" Neville looked shocked. Harry just felt shocked. That was like volunteering to do extra homework.  
  
"Oh! OK. If you're sure you want to." Harry gave the other a reassuring grin that he didn't quite feel, and started to work.  
  
After a quick agreement that Neville would read the recipe and measure the ingredients, and Harry would add and stir, they started working. Harry had noticed over the course of the last few years that most of Neville's problems in potions came from adding the ingredients at the wrong time. By putting him in charge of measurements and recipe reading, they could avoid that. Lily wandered around looking at the potions, and was careful to keep all praise light, and all criticism private. She did, however, laugh rather hard when she looked at Dean and Lavender's potion. Trying to recover from her mirth, she told them to add three more powdered beetles eyes, and not to forget the unicorn tail hair. She sat back down at her desk, and attempted to compose herself. Twenty minutes before the end of class, She checked their potions. She collected the amounts poured by the students with her eyes closed, and numbered them. She then summoned a chest from the office. "I hope that everyone kept an eye on their own potion. Remember your number. You will notice that I don't know which potion is which. The more evenly pitched the alarm, the better the potion is. I will remove them one at a time from this case. We shake them to activate them the first time. Watch." The chest rattled and banged, like something in it was trying to get out. Lily strolled over to it and popped open the lid. Out came a Boggart that focused on her and became…  
  
A/N- Pathetic, I know. Anyway, Since it's a tad arrogant to demand reviews, I'll just ask nicely. Could I please have 15 reviews? I will post the next chapter in three days without them, but I'll post it as soon as I get the fifteenth with them. That sound fair? e on, I know you wanna. 


	5. Harry's Explosion

A/N- Imagine my surprise when I checked my reviews not half an hour later and discovered I had twenty one new reviews! I also found out that a certain person decided to help me along a bit. I don't mind at all. The little gaffe with Snape being there but not being there in the previous chapter has been corrected. Kudos to Tirzah for pointing that out! Enjoy the next new chapter, Everyone!  
  
  
  
Peter Pettigrew. Perhaps he was the embodiment of traitors? Harry looked up at his mother, and saw that she was indeed shaking. He could hardly believe it. She shook the potion, and a high-pitched, broken squeal started coming from it. Lily quickly shook it again to turn it off, and then shouted "Riddikulus!" Peter was transformed into a rat in a big shaggy black dog's mouth. The class laughed, but Ron and Hermione turned around and gave him significant looks. Obviously Wormtail's treachery had scared his mother badly. They had no time to consider this, though, because after each potion was tested, she asked the owners to come up and claim it. One potion started insulting the Boggart. When she called for the owners, it turned out to be the very same one she had laughed at. After she was done, there were two potions that sounded very much alike. When she had heard them, she put them to the side so she could determine the winner. The only two groups that hadn't had theirs returned yet were Malfoy and Goyle, and Harry and Neville. Everyone was amazed. Even Hermione hadn't managed to completely master this potion. Seeing as only the owner's knew whose was who's, Lily held one out, and then the other.  
  
"Which one do you think was better? The last four can't vote." Almost unanimously, The class chose the first.  
  
Harry sent Neville up to collect the potion. Neither of them could believe it. They had actually won twenty points, and for the first time in living memory, neither of them had potions homework. Things were looking up.  
  
As they relaxed in the common room after classes had ended and before dinner, everyone was discussing the day's events. No one could believe that famous Harry Potter's dead parents were now very much alive…and their teachers. It was too much for their tiny brains to fathom- or so a rather annoyed Harry commented to Sirius when he came to fetch him. Sirius, Harry, Remus, James and Lily were all headed for Supper at a swank restaurant in London. Harry had been given special permission, and so his father held him while everyone apparated. It was nice for Sirius not to have to constantly be a dog. Dumbledore had express-owled both the ministry and the Daily Prophet, with the news of the Potter's return, their sworn statements, and a picture of them holding up that day's Daily Prophet, with the date on it. Sirius had been cleared, and a warrant went out for Pettigrew's arrest. The Daily Prophet ran a special issue, broadcasting his innocence, and he was once again allowed back into the world of wizarding. James had apologized to Remus for believing he was the spy right after Harry had gone to bed the previous night. . Remus shook his head, and old hurts were patched up and forgotten.  
  
They walked in, and were immediately thankful for Dumbledore making reservations in a private room for them. Flashbulbs had started popping up everywhere. The actual means that Dumbledore had used to bring the Potters back was classified, but the air was ripe with speculation. Stories were passing from person to person faster then the rumours that had broadcast Harry as the heir of Slytherin back in his second year.  
  
Harry was starting to feel even more conspicuous then he normally did, and he didn't like it. It was difficult enough to adjust to having his parents back from the dead, never mind dealing with Sirius's acquittal, and his fame, and all the other stupid little things of his everyday life. At least he didn't have to put up with Snape on top of it all, he thought.  
  
Harry barely ate the whole time that they were gone. He didn't really have a chance, as Lily was obviously attempting to catch up on the years of her son's life that she had missed. When she heard about all exploits that he had gotten up to with the aid of Ron and Hermione, it was obvious that she didn't know whether to laugh or scold him. And she definitely didn't like his seemingly unstoppable attraction to danger. She told him that, point blank.  
  
"Harry, I know that everything always has turned out in the end, but you could have been killed. I can't see why you've insisted on risking your life so often. You're still just a child, and children should be protected. Not chasing after situations that could get them killed. I don't want you putting yourself in any positions like that ever again. It isn't worth it."  
  
Sirius and Remus both drew in their breath at that. They knew that with all Harry had been through, he had stopped being a child years ago. In fact, Harry had never really been a child. Not since he was left on Vernon and Petunia Dursley's doorstep. They waited with baited breath. Harry had a temper to rival his mothers, and they had both been subjected to it at one point or another. They were not looking forward to the inevitable explosion. James, rather then stepping in and trying to defuse the situation, looked to agree with his wife.  
  
"A child? That's what you think I am, a child? I stopped being a child years ago, LILY! I stopped being a child the day I was left with muggles who hated me! I have seen more, done more, suffered more then most people could ever dream! I accepted you and James back so readily because I thought that you, as my parents, would understand that. You may have left a baby, but I am no longer him! I grew up, a lot faster then I should have had to. I may be your son, but I am no one's child. And if you can't understand that, then I can not call you two Mom and Dad. Because as far as parenting is considered, you aren't my mom and dad. I don't have parents. They died when I was one. If you would remember that fact, then I think we can get along. Because that fact is what has effected my life ever since. I can't just say, oh, gee, you're back now, that automatically insures you a place in my life because you were in it for a whole year before Voldemort took you away from me. I've had fourteen times that long on earth now. I may not have all that more. I don't know, since I'm at the top of Voldemort's people to kill list. I will not spend the rest of what ever stolen time I have left arguing with the two people who should understand me. Are we understood?"  
  
  
  
A/N- Hmmm. I'm so mean. I really should have let Lily answer him, but I didn't feel like it. OMG! I can't believe how wonderfully you all responded to last chapter! I ask for fifteen, and I get thirty! I love you guys! Since you all responded so wonderfully to my last request, I'm going to do it again. Could I please have 45 eviews? I know that it's a lot, but you are all up to it! Same as before, I'll post the next chapter when I find out we've hit 45, or in three days, whichever comes first. Thanks! 


	6. Enter Crimson

A/N- Well, Chapters will be a bit slower coming form here on in. I had all of this written before any was posted, so it meant I could post at my leisure. Now, I have to write it before I can post it. Don't worry, no intentions to abandon this any time soon. It may even be developing a plot- scary. Here it is.  
  
  
  
Harry's green eyes, so like his mothers, were snapping. His face was red, and he looked ready to explode. He couldn't stand the fact that everyone in the entire Magic World understood what he had gone through far better then his own parents. He sat down abruptly, and James could see that his two best friends were not at all surprised at this outburst. His two closest friends knew his son better then he or Lily did. Finally understanding, he stepped in. Lily was sitting stricken, unable to believe what her baby boy had just said.  
  
James's voice was rusty when he spoke. "Harry, I'm sorry. I know we can't imagine what you have been through. But we left a baby. A small son, who could barely talk and walk. A little boy who was happy go lucky, and always ready to help one of his uncles out with a prank, even if he didn't quite understand it. Can you understand why we would be a little overprotective of you? We, too, lived out miserable years on the plains. We were forced to relive that moment over and over again. Our only consolation was that you had not joined us, which meant that you weren't murdered by AK. But that was also our greatest torment. That you grew up not knowing how much we loved you, how much we cared. Although we never thought that you would end up at the Dursley's. We had thought that you would have been with Sirius, or Crimson. Come to think of it, Padfoot, what happened to you and Crimson? Weren't you two engaged when we were banished?"  
  
Harry did a double take, trying to process the abrupt change of topic. He wouldn't really disown his parents. He couldn't, he had waited too long to get them back. But they had to understand that he was not the same child that they left so long ago. Wait a minute, Sirius and who?  
  
" I haven't seen her since I went to Azkaban. I don't know where she is now. I know that she was hiding under an aging potion somewhere, guarding what Dumbledore told me was the most important treasure of our time, but I don't know where. I think he was afraid that I would try to go see her, and blow both our covers. I doubt that she would even speak to me, now. I hurt her so badly."  
  
Harry's head was spinning. Aging potion? Guarding something? His godmother?  
  
"What's her last name?" Harry croaked, his voice still sore from his outburst. Lily's face brightened. Her son was still speaking to her. Maybe she hadn't blown everything.  
  
"She was my best friend at Hogwarts. Her name was Crimson Filtch, but she changed her last name because she didn't want to be associated with her jerk of an uncle. And she is your godmother. I may be able to find out where she is when she sees the papers. I hope that Dumbledore has owled her, though. That's an awful thing to find out in the paper. He said she was actually using her real first name now. You know, in all the time I knew her, I never found out what it was." Remus and Sirius looked at each other guiltily. They both knew it, because Dumbledore had told Remus, and Sirius knew because they had to use it in the ceremony and she didn't want him laughing at her in the middle of it.  
  
She noticed the look on her son's face. He was pointing at the doorway. Mrs. Figg, his old babysitter, was hobbling into the private room.  
  
"You never will, either. And no, Dumbledore most certainly did NOT owl me first. Not about my fiancée being free, not about my best friend being alive, not about anything! And you can bet I will be taking it up with him when we all return to Hogwarts." Lily started to laugh, as her friend changed herself back to her normal looks. A young woman with long, copper hair appeared, her violet eyes sparkling with a mixture of joy and anger.  
  
"Fireball! You haven't changed. I would have thought that you might have aged while wearing that disguise, but obviously, you haven't. How on earth did you find us?"  
  
Settling herself down, she drank in the sight of her best friend. "Locator spell on Harry. I liked to know what he got up to on the various occasions that he escaped from your bitch of a sister. You didn't hear that." She said, turning to Harry. He nodded obediently, being careful not to let his amusement at her show on his face. Turning from him, she reached over to Sirius, who was sitting beside her. She raised her hand, and SMACK! Slapped him across the face.  
  
"That was for being so idiotically stupid in going after Wormtail on your own." Then she threw herself into his arms, and kissed him full on the lips. He quickly responded, and it took a throat clear (and a stream of cold water from Harry's wand) to separate them.  
  
"And that?" Sirius asked breathlessly.  
  
"That, you silly git, was to welcome you home." Crimson said reasonably, and served herself some pasta.  
  
Harry and Remus looked at each other and burst out laughing. It was one momentous day, all right. And it wasn't over yet.  
  
"Hey, mom?" Harry asked tentatively. Lily beamed.  
  
"Yes, Harry? You aren't mad, anymore?"  
  
"Oh, I'm still mad, but I'm trying to give you guys a chance to adjust. Anyway, why did you start laughing at that potion today in class?"  
  
Lily smiled.  
  
"Well, you see, it was the very same potion that Crimson and I put into your father and Padfoot's drinks when we were mad at them back in sixth year. They couldn't say anything but insults. Oh, did they get detention until it wore off! It was great. They even insulted the Fat Lady. She wouldn't let them in for weeks!" She and Crimson both started laughing again at the memory.  
  
James and Sirius looked at each other.  
  
"That was you? We always assumed it was Snape! So that's why you spent that afternoon in Myrtle's bathroom. Well, revenge will be sweet, won't it Prongs?" James nodded.  
  
"Indeed it will. You in, Moony? Or are you going to referee again?"  
  
"Leave me out of it. I may referee if the spirit strikes me."  
  
Harry couldn't believe his ears. His dad and godfather sounded like him and Ron, about to pull a prank on Malfoy. He didn't notice that Crimson had tears running down her face, overjoyed to be able to partake in an old fashioned prank war, with all those she thought she lost. It became obvious that she could hardly wait to start. In fact, she didn't.  
  
Shaking herself, she leaned over to Lily.  
  
"Hey, Tiger, what do ya say we…" Lily nodded, and in about twenty nine milliseconds, Both James and Sirius were sporting multicolored hair.  
  
"Marauders, 0, Unicorns, 1! Crimson said happily.  
  
The war was on, and Harry was going to be a fascinated bystander for once. It could prove to be interesting.  
  
  
  
A/N- Well, for all those who wanted more adjustment tension, here it is. Um.. I'm not really sure where this is going, but I'll try to figure it out soon. Until then, go read "We'll Meet Again," my H/G fic, or "Dreams of Memories, Memories of Dreams," my L/J fic. And don't forget to review! 


	7. The Blood Snake

A/N- The plot is starting to appear! I'm so happy! It's amazing how many things work out themselves if you give them a chance. I want to thank all of my absolutely wonderful reviewers. I'm really happy to see such a great response to this fic. I almost didn't post it! Now I'm glad I did.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry was still smarting from his mother's words when he got back to the castle that night. She should have been able to see the changes that the years at the Dursley's had started, and Voldemort was still making. Happy go lucky? If he had stayed happy go lucky, he never would have survived Dudley, let alone the most powerful Dark Lord in two hundred and fifty years! But it was kind of nice to have someone worry about him… No. He had someone worry about him. Mrs. Weasley. As a matter of fact, make that the whole Weasley clan. And Dumbledore, and Sirius, and Lupin, and Hermione. And they were more of a family then the one that was returned to him was. Not to mention that his parents were banished when they were twenty, so they looked and acted very much like HE did, for christ sakes. The only two that really looked and acted like adults in that crowd were Sirius and Remus. Even Crimson still looked twenty! She, at least, acted like an adult most of the time. Except when she was turning peoples hair funny colors.  
  
He changed into his PJ's and crawled into bed. He cast a silencing spell on his bed curtains, and started to scream at the top of his lungs. He punched his pillow, and threw a regular temper tantrum. Just when he thought that his life couldn't get anymore complicated, this happened.  
  
He stopped, and immediately started to feel guilty. He should be happy. He had his parents back, and they accepted him. Why couldn't he do the same? After all, there were some people who would never have this reunion with lost loved ones. Neville, who's parents were alive but didn't recognize them. The Diggory's and Cho, who would never see Cedric again. And countless others, all over the world, muggle and wizard alike, who had lost people before they were meant to. Harry couldn't be his mother's baby. But her could be her son. James had seemed to understand Harry's tirade. Perhaps, with him, it would be easier. Finally exhausted, Harry slept. He never even noticed Ron sneak into his own bed, a wide grin on his face, and a few stray brown hairs on his shirt. Because of the still active Silencing Charm, Ron never noticed that his friend started to scream in the early morning, and couldn't stop. Nightmares were once more plaguing his sleep.  
  
When he failed to rouse Harry the next morning, Ron became concerned. He tried to open the curtains, but they were held fast. He started to grin. Harry must have had too many butter beer last night, he thought. With a smile eerily similar to his twin older brothers, he said "Finite Incatatem!"  
  
Harry's screams were now audible to the entire dorm. Neville was out of his bed faster then anyone had ever seen him move, his face pale as a sheet. Dean and Seamus followed within seconds. Ron tried in vain to wake Harry up, even going as far as to pour water on his face. To everyone's surprise, Neville took charge.  
  
"Seamus, you go for his mother, Dean, his father. I'm going to Dumbledore. Ron, keep trying to wake him. The last time I heard screaming like that, I was a year old. Don't ask me to tell you about it, it wasn't pretty. " With that, the three departed. Ron, in a sudden flash of understanding, looked at Harry's scar. It was livid red, and distended. It throbbed like a living snake on Harry's head. In the very center, there was a green line that was slowly getting darker. Ron quickly took out a small pocketknife and slit the scar, grasping the thin blood snake firmly, before it could wreak havoc with any of Harry's other Voldemort related scars. He dropped it into a glass, and sealed it with a spell that Hermione had taught him. Harry's screams had started to subside.  
  
He was still moaning when Dean, Seamus and Neville returned with the people they had been sent for. Dumbledore saw Harry's condition, and saw the thin line of blood trickling down the side of his face. Ron showed him the glass that the little green snake was now residing in, hissing threateningly.  
  
"You got it, then? All of it?" He asked urgently. Ron nodded.  
  
"I reckon so. If I hadn't, one of his arms would have started by now, and his dreams would have returned. I wonder how long he was screaming like that?"  
  
"You don't know?" Asked Lily, mad. "You would think that his BEST FRIEND would wake up if he had started."  
  
"He had a silencing charm on! He only does that when he's mad, but he must have forgotten to take it off!" Ron was stung. He only knew what to do because his father had been worried about this possibility, and had taught Ron how to fix it.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm not myself." Lily looked over at her son.  
  
"Now we know." Dumbledore said, looking at them all. He summoned a stretcher for Harry, and moved him on to it. No one said anything until Harry was safely settled into his bed in the infirmary. Then, Dumbledore's voice, old but still powerful explained himself.  
  
"Harry was the victim of a blood snake tonight. It forms in the blood, fueled by it's master, and has much the same effect as a dementor. Instead of making you cold, it makes you very, very hot, until the blood boils and the victim dies. However, it is a very difficult spell to do, and the only way it can be cast is if the victim has two things. One, a scar from the caster. Harry has three of those. The curse scar, the scar where the Basilisk fang pierced his arm, and the scar from Wormtail's knife. The Blood Snake will normally take the most powerful scar. The other thing that must be there is a blood connection between the caster and the victim. Harry has that, as well, because of the events of Voldemort's rebirth."  
  
Unusual in the wizard world, the little crowd that was gathered around Harry's bed did not flinch at the name. Instead, they listened intently. Harry did as well, although at that point he could do nothing else. His voice was completely gone, and he didn't have the energy to let people know he was all right. But he lay where he was, and he listened.  
  
A/N- Now, I'm never going to demand reviews, because when people do that it makes me mad. It's rude. But I will ask. May I please have some reviews? Oh, say, maybe 60? I'll post in three days, or when we get there. Same as always. Oh, the fic is currently eight chapters long, and looks to me like it's just taking off, so I definitely won't be ending it soon. To give you an idea, my very first fic was supposed to be five chapters, but ran away and became 17. Typical! If you want to read Crimson, Lily and the Marauder's story, go read Dreams of Memories.  
  
That's it for now.  
  
-Celtic Ember, 25/03/02 


	8. Recovery with a Rat

A/N- Sorry about the cliffhangers! But it makes the story ever so much more interesting, don't you think? Oh, I'm bad. Here's the next chapter. Thanks to all who reviewed! Sheryalyn, you'll find out later. Harry is definitely in pain- after all, blood boiling hurts I would think, and a little vicious dementor snake growing in an already tender scar couldn't have been a picnic.  
  
  
  
"Voldemort proved both his power and his weakness tonight. For if is able to cast blood spells on Harry, the opposite is also true. No doubt he will have guarded against most of them. However, there is also one that he can not have. I will say no more. Let Harry get some sleep. Mr. Finnegan, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Longbottom, and Mr. Weasley, I believe that you all have classes to attend. It is, after all, only your second day back. You may come and visit during break." Dumbledore asked, though everyone knew that it was actually a command. The boys from Harry's dorm reluctantly filed out. Ron especially didn't want to go, but someone had to tell Hermione what happened.  
  
Dumbledore then turned to Harry's parents. "James, Lily, I will summon the Padfoot and Moony. They should be here within the hour to relieve you, so that you may teach your classes." Here his eyes began to twinkle. "Oh, and James? Excellent prank! Next time, though, make sure you get Lily's glass, and not Minerva's. She'll be singing show tunes all through Transfiguration, I believe.  
  
Lily couldn't help herself. Her son was lying on a hospital bed, and Voldemort was back, but show tunes? That was just too funny. Not to mention unoriginal. She and Crimson had pulled that on Snape more then once. She started to giggle, and then burst out laughing along with Dumbledore. James had the grace to blush, but then he joined in as well. Harry grinned to himself, and finally fell into a dreamless sleep. (A/N I always swore to avoid these, damn it. Harry was awake after Ron took the snake out.) He needed it, if the dreams he had were any indication.  
  
"Professor?" Lily asked Dumbledore later that evening.  
  
"What is it, Lily?"  
  
"Couldn't old ugly pull the same trick again?" She asked, refusing to call such a foul git "Lord" anything.  
  
"No, actually, he can't. If he tries, Harry's immune system will automatically sense it for what it is now- foreign cells attempting to become parasitic. It would neutralize it instantly. Lily nodded, and left the infirmary. James was with Harry, and she had a class to teach.  
  
James sat with Sirius and Remus in the infirmary, listening to tales of Harry's years at Hogwarts. Crimson sat with her books in her lap, continuing her work on repairing damaged minds. The Longbottom's had been good friends of hers at one time. Neville was a strong young man, but she wanted him to know his parents. She looked up, and noticed that while the adult Marauders were talking about him, Harry had woken up. He smiled at her, and tried to say hi. But no words would come out. He was unable to speak. He also was too weak to move. Madam Pomfrey saw he was awake, and quickly forced a vile potion down his battered throat.  
  
"That ought to repair the damage. Honestly, young man, your're in here more then any other thirty students combined! You really should be more careful." Harry grinned at her. Padfoot, Moony, and Prongs had just turned around to look at him in surprise.  
  
"How're you feeling Harry?" Asked James.  
  
"Sore. Tired. And extremely annoyed that with all those Quidditch tales, you never told him about when I fell off my broomstick because of the Dementors. Did you?" Harry had a stern look on his face, but his sparkling eyes gave him away. Lupin had started to look uncomfortable at this grumpy boy diablo, when Harry's face spread into a grin.  
  
"Gotcha! How long have I been out? And where are Ron and Hermione?" He asked, looking around him. Everyone noticed that he didn't ask after his mother. Everyone, that is, except Harry, It was very normal for Ron and Hermione to be there when he woke up in the hospital wing. It wasn't normal for his mother to be there. He hadn't even though of her.  
  
"Ron and Hermione are in Potions right now. With your mother." Crimson said, none too tactfully. Harry gave her a pointed look. Not like he was going to explain himself now. In the corner, Sirius sighed. She sure hadn't changed al that much.  
  
"Right. How long have I been out?" Harry asked again. James gave a mock sigh.  
  
"Three days." Harry bolted up from the bed.  
  
"WHAT? Our first match is in a week! I have to get to practice." The adults all started to laugh. Except for Madam Pomfrey, that is. She came running over, and scolded him.  
  
"You're vocal cords can't stand any strain for twenty four hours. Do you think you could keep your voice down for now, or do I need a silencing charm? And you still have a temperature." After making him drink more potion, she bustled off again.  
  
"What did I tell you? Once a Quidditch player, always a Quidditch player." Sirius laughed to James.  
  
"Oh, and Harry, we were joking. You've only been out for six hours." Harry relaxed against his pillows.  
  
"In that case, I'm going back to sleep. Say hi to everyone for me." Harry drifted off again, and James left to go to teach his last DADA class of the day. Crimson climbed into Sirius's lap, snuggled close- and promptly hit him with a rhyming jinx. She then kissed him senseless so that he would forget to retaliate. He wasn't upset. James had planted Dung bombs in her guestroom.  
  
It was a pity that they were all too distracted to see the stupid little rat until he attempted to bite Harry.  
  
At least, not until Sirius came up for breath to notice the dirty little paw prints that went up the pristine white sheets. He motioned to Crimson, who saw the filthy little pest and slowly got up, wiping her mouth as she did so. She sat back down, and then –BANG! The parasite was frozen, and swept off of Harry's bed. Once again, Madam Pomfrey checked him over. The rat hadn't managed to bite him. There were several holes in the sheets where it had tried and missed, but it now hung in Sirius's hand, swing by it's tail like a pendulum, back and forth, back and forth. Though repulsed by it, Crimson was also drawn to it. Maybe they should let it go… She shook her head quickly.  
  
"How many toes?" She asked, her voice dangerous.  
  
"Nine." Sirius replied in the same tone.  
  
"I'll go for Dumbledore." Remus said, with a strange light in his eye.  
  
"Peter, how nice it is to see you again." This came from Harry, who was awake once more. "Although my parents may feel differently."  
  
  
  
Oops! I guess that was another cliffie, wasn't it? Well, same format as before, three days before my next post, or 75 reviews, whichever comes first. I know it's a lot to ask, but I need to write the next chapters before I can post them. That means I need to give myself a little bit of wiggle room. 


	9. Peter's Inquisition

A/N- Well, here's the next chapter. Not much else to say. I apologize in advance for the in text authors note. I hate them, but sometimes their needed. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.  
  
  
  
  
  
To make it difficult for Peter to escape once he was revived, Sirius cast the rather nasty spell to force him back into his human form. The rats bones twisted, and grew, and the mangy little rat became a plump little man, currently wearing a fearful frozen expression.  
  
Harry was strongly tempted to get out of bed and kick him, but knew that his more pressing duties included calming down his godparents so they wouldn't kill the stupid rat. That could be done later. Right now, they needed to find out what he was doing in Hogwarts.  
  
Remus, puffing slightly, quickly appeared with Dumbledore, Lily and James. Both had dismissed their classes early, and Ron and Hermione had to be restrained from following them when they realized that the problem had something to do with Harry. A glint appeared in the old man's eye when he saw the frozen form lying on the ground. Here was an immense intelligence find.  
  
"Mr. Lupin, the Veritiserum, if you please." Remus nodded, and pulled a vial of the clear potion from his robes. Dumbledore took it and poured five drops into Wormtail's mouth. He then bound him hand and foot, and put him into a magical cage to prevent him from escaping. Harry was a bit disturbed. Even when Barty Crouch had been questioned, they had only used three drops. What would five do?  
  
He soon found out. Dumbledore took the freezing spell off, and Pettigrew began to speak in a torrent. Fortunately, they were prepared for that, and a quick quotes quill recorded everything that was said word for word. No one noticed the door to the infirmary open, and close quietly, as Pettigrew began to talk about Halloween night, 1981. Finally, all those who suffered had a way of finding out what made a fellow Marauder turn on his fellows, causing three of them to lose large portions of their life.  
  
"I had joined my master for the promise of power. I wanted to prove myself. We all had to give up the thing we would miss most. I would miss m friends. I was either to die, or incapacitate The Hogwarts Marauders. My master relented. As long as I could give him the Potters, I would be honored. I convinced Sirius to get James and Lily to switch to me. I went to my master. I told him I could give him the Potters. He rewarded me. He went to Godric's Hollow. He found them, and he killed them. They are not here. The two are illusions, and you can not scare me. My master is back. I came back to make sure the Dark Lord had indeed killed Harry Potter. I also was to check on the rumors that James and Lily Potter had come back from the dead. I can now tell him that they are untrue. James and Lily Potter are dead, because they have not aged. My master will be pleased, and will give me back my silver hand to replace the flesh I had to use."  
  
James looked stunned. He always knew that his friend hated to be a lackey. He never treated him like one. But now, all the pieces that were so odd in seventh year seemed to fit. Peter was distant because he was trying to separate himself from his friends. He was already working for Voldemort when they graduated. Remus looked ready to kill him, much like Sirius and he had wanted to at the end of Harry's third year.  
  
They were all distracted by a noisy redhead throwing off an invisibility cloak, exposing both himself and Hermione. He stormed over to the group questioning Peter, and started to swear. It would have been very funny if the subject hadn't been so serious.  
  
"You little pathetic excuse for a human being! How could you stomach being my family's PET once you found out that my BEST FRIEND was the same boy that you had tried to murder? Oh, wait. I forgot. You aren't human. You are a soul-sucking LOSER who is impersonating a human while normally living as a rat! I am personally extremely ashamed that I didn't toss you back into the garden and let Crookshanks eat you like the SCUM you are. It would be far better then you deserve, you piece of filth." Ron kicked him once, and then stopped. He looked up, and saw several pairs of very shocked eyes, and one very embarrassed looking Hermione trying to edge over towards the door. His face turned even redder then it was, and Harry started to laugh. Ron had just said exactly what he had wanted to say since that night in the Shrieking Shack. Harry had to admire the lengths that his best friend would go to in order to relieve his pent up hostility.  
  
Dumbledore, who had been very annoyed at how Harry's two best friends had blatantly disregarded him, joined in. He should have known better then to try to disclude two members of what was already being called The Trinity. He should know that when one of them bled, the others would find a way to them.  
  
"Well said, Mr. Weasley. All though I do wish that you had bothered to listen to me when I asked you two to go to your dormitory. I assume that's Mr. Potter's cloak?"  
  
Ron nodded, then looked nervously at the still quiet Hermione. "He said I could borrow it if I needed to. And you told us to go to our dormitory, sir, but you never said we had to stay there." Unexpectedly, Sirius chuckled.  
  
"That sounds like something that James or I would say." He explained.  
  
Meanwhile, Wormtail was still in his magic cage, and still under the effects of the Veritiserum.  
  
"I didn't want to betray you guys, you know. I wanted to be like you. I wanted to be included. And I never was, and I never will be. It was your fault."  
  
Lily flinched. She had never liked Peter, so as she and James got closer, Peter was driven further away. She supposed it was her fault in a way.  
  
"Did you really hate us that much, Peter?" She asked quietly. She had had many years in the plains of misery to come to terms with his treachery. It still smarted, but at least now she could finally get some answers.  
  
"No. But I wanted to be like you. This was the only way. And it worked. I have been rewarded, I have power, and people cower at the mention of my name."  
  
"The name WE gave you, as a sign of friendship and affection. The name that is signed on the Marauder's Map. Or did you forget that, you little rat? And did you bother to tell your precious Dark Lord that the only reason you can turn into a rat is because we helped you do it?" Remus's voice, normally so mild, was harsh and angry.  
  
"He knows. He also said it proves that goodness is weakness." Crimson could take no more of this. She had wanted to slap Peter for most of her life. Now she finally had her chance to strike the pathetic, whiny little twit. She took full advantage of it, and the open palmed slap echoed throughout the hospital wing.  
  
"That's for all the whining you did while we were in Hogwarts." She said, and sat back down. "Professor Dumbledore, I think you'd better make that cage impenetrable, or we just might kill him before he can go to trial. "  
  
Dumbledore nodded, and cast the spell that would keep people out, rather then just Wormtail in. He then levitated the cage, and banished it to his office with Wormtail still inside.  
  
  
  
Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next will be up in three days. If you want it sooner, can I have 85 reviews? I would really be happy to post if I got 85 reviews. Just a thought.  
  
–Celtic Ember 


	10. Family Time

A/N- I finally resisted a cliffhanger in this chapter. Aren't you all proud! It looks like I was a little too ambitious with my review hopes for last chapter- we hit the three day mark and the 85 mark at the same time! Thank you for reviewing, and enjoy this chapter.  
  
  
  
"I must go see to our prisoner. I will speak to you all later. It is also my duty to take ten points from Gryffindor for your disobedience, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger. I hope you will learn your lesson." Dumbledore swept out of the room.  
  
"Ron, that was bloody brilliant! You said that word for word to what you've been practicing since we found out." Harry said excitedly.  
  
"Yes, it was quite good, Ron, but did you have to expose the fact we were here? We should have been in a lot more trouble then we are. I'm quite surprised that we didn't get detention, at the very least." Hermione had her lips pressed together, trying to hold off a smile.  
  
"Aww, come on 'Mione, you know how much he's been wanting to say that." Harry admonished her. Her smile escaped at last, and the three friends started to grin at each other.  
  
"You two need to go now. Harry needs to sleep." Remus said kindly. The three were startled. They had forgotten the adults were there.  
  
"He must have burned more energy then he gained, the other night. I had to hold him down to lance his forehead, he was thrashing around so hard." Ron said with understanding, and no small grimace.  
  
"How did you know what to do, Ron?" Hermione asked him as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. "I didn't even know about Blood Snakes."  
  
"My dad wanted me to be prepared, so he taught me." A devilish grin crossed his face. "Want to know something else I learned?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"There's a hidden broom cupboard right about- here!" He said, swinging the door, which was pretending to be a painting, open, and pulling Hermione in with him. Her giggle was abruptly ended when his lips came down on hers. 'Now this is more like what I pictured this year to be like." Ron thought happily as Hermione snuggled closer, her head tilted into a more inviting angle. 'I wondered when he was going to have the guts to do this.' Hermione thought at the same time.  
  
For some reason, neither of them could wipe the grins off their slightly flushed faces when they went down for dinner. Not like anyone really doubted why.  
  
Harry noticed immediately when he exited the hospital wing two days later that his best friends had become far more demonstrative. He was glad for them, since it was about time they let people know. He had been tired of keeping their secret. It also left him free to brood in quiet.  
  
So much had changed this past year. Sirius free, his parents alive, his best friends dating, and, of course, Voldemort's rebirth. Can't forget that one. But maybe, just maybe, his parents might be able to tell him why Voldemort was so hell bent on killing him. He wasn't about to date anyone when his chances of leaving them were so high, and he wanted to know why he had to enforce such loneliness on himself. He didn't want anyone to cry over him the way Cho had cried over Cedric. There obviously had to be a reason why he was born with a target on his back. He slipped on his cloak, careful not to look over towards the broom cupboard that more then likely contained Ron and Hermione, and set off to find his parents.  
  
They were sitting in the staff quarters that Dumbledore had allotted to them, and so when Harry knocked on the door, they promptly opened it.  
  
"Take the cloak off, Harry. You aren't going to fool a previous owner of it." Laughter was heard from the corner that Lily was sitting in as a tousled head appeared, seemingly floating in mid air.  
  
"Gee, and I thought I was so smart, too. Darn."  
  
"James, sit down. You aren't all knowing yet, old man." Lily grinned.  
  
"What's up, Harry? Or did you just decide to come and visit?" She looked like she obviously hoped that he had merely come for a visit. Harry didn't want to take that hopeful gleam from her eye, but he told the truth.  
  
"Actually, I wanted to know a couple of things that only you guys know. Can you tell me about our family? I know next to nothing." He asked, changing his mind about his original question. His parents looked so happy, he didn't want to ruin their evening. Lily's eyes grew sad anyway, but it was more a remembrance of things lost then upset feelings. Impulsively, Harry slipped the cape off his shoulders, and walked over to her. He set his six foot tall frame down on her lap, and wrapped his arms around her. Surprised, her arms snaked around his sides and tightened into a bear hug.  
  
"Mom, I haven't said it because of how much this is going to hurt if I wake up to find this a dream, but I love you. I've missed you two so much. Even when I thought you had died in a car crash." Silently James crossed over to them, and wrapped his arms around his wife and son. No one knew what the future was bringing. They all were living on borrowed time. But in this moment, they were a family. And no one was foolish to tangle with three fully-grown and trained Potters. That is, no one short of Voldemort himself.  
  
Harry climbed off, and sprawled across the floor. He really hated the fact that he had missed so much. But now, he sat and listened to his father's deep voice, telling him the heritage he had thought was lost forever. Everything else could wait for morning.  
  
A/N- See? No Cliffie! Yay for me! Same format as before. Except, this time, I'm going to get really ambitious here. Could I please have 95 reviews? I know you guys are up to it. Pretty please? Or I'll decide that cliffies are the best way to go. I'll post in three days regardless. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.  
  
-Celtic Ember 


	11. Dumbledore's Plan

A/N- Well, I've really got to stop forgetting to write a chapter before I promise it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I saw my reviews hit ninety- five, went to post- and realized that I hadn't written the next chapter yet. Be proud, it still went up within three hours. Thank the goddess my muse was paying attention to me for once. Anyway, here is the chapter. I hope you enjoy it.  
  
  
  
The rest of the castle settled into its nightly routine, and Harry drifted off on his parent's carpet. Once again his dreams were troubled. For the first time he had his mother at his side, soothing him. Harry thought that just having that was worth the dreams. He went to classes in a daze, his mind still on his parents. DADA was very different when his father taught it. He was starting to really enjoy it. After his last class, Ron and Hermione walked with him up to Gryffindor tower, asking him questions that he finally had answers to. Just as they were climbing into the portrait hole, Professor McGonagall intercepted them.  
  
"The headmaster needs to speak with you three. Follow me, please." She said. They all noticed that her voice sounded funny. It was slightly hoarse, like she had been arguing at the top of her lungs. They started to wonder what they had done wrong, but they had no chance to discuss it as they had reached the Gargoyle. The password was given, and McGonagall ushered them up the stairs. Dumbledore opened his office door, and the three sat down.  
  
"Can I get you something? Tea? Yes, I think tea would be a very good idea. Thank you, Minerva. You may go." She turned to leave, and then said,  
  
"I still don't like this idea, Albus."  
  
"I know. But it is our best hope. You know that."  
  
She nodded, and silently left the office.  
  
"Don't look so alarmed, Mr. Weasley. You aren't in trouble. Unless you've done something that I should know about?" Ron shook his head.  
  
"Good. Now, I imagine you are wondering why you are here." His eyes were grave.  
  
"Yes, sir." Harry said, deciding that his best behavior was called for here.  
  
"You remember how I said that blood snake could only have happened because of Voldemort's connection to you?"  
  
Though the question was directed at Harry, all three of them nodded.  
  
"I believe that we can use that connection the same way. It is our best hope of destroying Voldemort forever."  
  
Hermione gasped at this, but Harry and Ron looked at him intently.  
  
"Isn't that part of the Dark Arts, Professor?' Ron asked, not precisely sure what his hero was about to suggest.  
  
"No, Ron. It is one of the spells that are known as Grey Spells. I don't believe that you have taken them yet. You have so much to catch up on in Defense against the Dark Arts. Allow me to explain, although I imagine that this will be a refresher course for Miss Granger.  
  
The spell I propose to use has been classified grey simply because so few people can cast it. Especially since I am the only one who knows the incantation for it. For every victim or hurt that the person cursed has caused, his blood will thicken slightly. If there are enough, it will solidify all the liquid in the person's body. It also kills all magical enchantments in the blood that try to sustain the wraith that is left. It will destroy Voldemort. The only catch is that it requires no less then seven people to cast it. The main person must share the blood bond. Now, it as far as I can tell, you need two friends, two adults that you trust implicitly, and two enemies. I suspect that Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger will be the two friends that you choose. As for your enemies, I would imagine that Professor Snape will serve as one. I'm not sure who will serve for the other, but Mr. Malfoy would be the obvious choice. We will need to find out about his own leanings, to see if he wants to be a Death Eater before we make that decision. As for the two adults, I'm afraid that I must be one, as I am needed for the incantation. We only need the last adult. Harry, the choice is yours. Will you do this?"  
  
A very white Harry nodded. After all, at least this way there wasn't much of a chance of him getting killed. At least, not that he knew of. Dumbledore had deliberately not told him that unless his choice of the last adult was true, they would all be killed the instant the spell was cast. The boy didn't need the weight of that on his shoulders. He had too much already.  
  
"Ron? Hermione? Will you two be the friends that the incantation calls for please?" Harry asked seriously. At this point, he wasn't taking anything for granted.  
  
"Of course we will, you prat. Not like you have anyone else as tight as we are, anyway." Ron said with a ghost of a smile. Hermione nodded in the affirmative.  
  
"Check with Malfoy and Professor Snape please sir. The sooner we do this spell, the sooner we can all get on with our lives." Harry stood up to go. Dumbledore stopped him for a moment, keeping him from following Ron and Hermione down the stairs.  
  
"Harry, you can not choose either of your parents. They spent too much time in banishment, and it will effect the spell. I hope that makes it easier for you to choose."  
  
"Thank you professor. It just may, at that." With a final look at the sword in the Headmasters office, Harry stepped downstairs. The time had come to ask his parents about the target on his back, and this time he wasn't going to stop. He knew that there was something that Dumbledore hadn't told him about this spell, because of the look in the older wizard's eyes. He assumed it had something to do with his parents. After all, for all his greatness, he was just a fifteen-year-old boy who isn't always right.  
  
He told Ron and Hermione, who were passing the time spent waiting for him snogging blissfully in the hallway, to go get a room, and he'd see them when they were done. They both giggled, which Harry thought was rather odd after just agreeing to help save the world. Then they walked off, muttering something about a hidden broom cupboard. Harry chuckled all the way to his parent's room, then abruptly sobered as he got to his parent's door.  
  
He gave the password and went inside.  
  
"Mom? Dad? I need to talk to you. And it's important."  
  
  
  
A/N- I'm really sorry! That isn't intended to be a cliffie, it was just the way it turned out. Anyway, I would really like to pass 100 reviews. We being at 95 right now would mean that getting that would only take five, but I want to pass that mark. Could I please have 105 reviews? I'll have the next chapter up when it hits that number, or in three days. Thanks! 


	12. Hogwarts Four Or One?

A/N- Thank You! Thank you! Thank you! I really appreciate you guys reviewing the last chapter! You have no idea how that makes me feel. Nell, I'm sorry I make you wait until a certain number of reviews or three days are met, but I need some time to WRITE the chapters, and I don't think that three days is really all that harsh. Some of the stories I'm reading right now are only updated once every two weeks, ad once a week seems to be the norm. So the format stays! Enjoy this chapter.  
  
  
  
Lily looked up from the book she was reading, and James woke up from the nap he was taking, his head in his wife's lap.  
  
"What is it, Harry? Girl problems?" Asked James with a smile that reminded Harry distinctly of Sirius. Harry made a mental note to tell his godfather.  
  
"Actually, it's a little more serious then that. Why is Voldemort after me? And why has no one told me yet?" He got to the point, and was nervous enough that it came out bluntly.  
  
"No one has told you? But I thought… Dumbledore would have." James stuttered.  
  
"He said to wait until I was older. But I need to know now. So, will you tell me, or will I have to drag Ron and 'Mione out of their broom cupboard to spend some serious time in the library?"  
  
His mother smiled at his reference to his friends. "James, I believe that this is your story to tell, not mine. It does, after all, have to do with your family."  
  
James nodded. In his deep voice, he started to explain.  
  
"Well Harry, in order to understand this, we are going to have to start with a history lesson. You know, of course, about the four founders of Hogwarts." Harry nodded, and reflected that he seemed to be doing a lot of nodding lately.  
  
"What the text books don't tell you is that the great Hogwarts four had more domestic troubles then any other in history. Godric Gryffindor was the leader. He and Helga Hufflepuff were very much in love. They had eyes only for each other. Salazar Slytherin had just as much of an attraction to Rowena Ravenclaw. However, she did not return it. She was in love with Godric, and had resigned herself to being a spinster. One night, while Godric and Helga were on their own, Salazar raped Rowena. When she finally escaped, she went straight to the others. The argument that ensued built up with the many other arguments that had been happening, caused Salazar to leave the school. He never found out that his treatment of Rowena resulted in a little boy, one of the first children to attend Hogwarts from beginning to end. Since Rowena couldn't stomach calling the boy by his father's last name, and couldn't call him by hers or he would be called a bastard, she gave him his own name. She called him Andrew Potter. Three years after his birth, Helga and Godric also had a child, a little girl. This was still an age where parents arranged marriages. Godric and Helga matched their little girl, Elspeth, to Andrew. As the two had grown up together, neither minded. No one but them knows whether they loved each other. But they had one son, and two daughters. The son carried on the Potter name. You and I, Harry, are the direct descendants of him. Which means we are not only Voldemort's rival to the Heir of Slytherin, but we are also the only Heirs to Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor as well. Different Dark Lords in the past have combined, and killed off all the others. You have the blood of all four founders running through your veins. Once you are trained, you will be more powerful then Voldemort or even Dumbledore himself."  
  
Harry was reeling. Now he understood why no one had told him sooner. He also knew why he had a target on his back. But yet…  
  
"If we are so powerful, then how did you two get banished?" Harry asked, confused. "And how am I supposed to avoid it? Couldn't he get me too?"  
  
"I was banished because I was protecting you. The force field that I had around you kept you from following us to the Plains Of Misery. But it also sapped my strength. You also are going to be stronger then me. You're the 130th generation since the founders. Ten times Thirteen. And that carries powerful magic of it's own." James said seriously. He stopped, and took in the shadows under his son's eyes. "You need to sleep in your own bed. We'll see you in the morning. Give your mother and I a hug, and off to Gryffindor Tower you go." Harry managed a faint smile as he headed out the door and up the stairs. Now he knew why he was fighting. And it made it a whole lot easier.  
  
He found a very red Ron and Hermione in the middle of a blazing row when he climbed in. They were attempting to keep the volume lower then ear splitting, but weren't succeeding very well.  
  
"You should have checked the bloody map, Ron!"  
  
"The map doesn't show the House-Elves, Hermione!"  
  
"Then you should have borrowed the invisibility cloak! Honestly!"  
  
Ron was about to reply when Harry stepped in.  
  
"Uh guys, is this really an argument you really want spectators for?"  
  
"No, why? It's midnight. Most people are in bed." Ron said, the red starting to fade from his face.  
  
"Because we could here every word you were saying, you prat." Came another voice from the bottom of the girl's staircase. Hermione spun around.  
  
"Ginny! Could you really? Did we keep everyone up? Damn it all. Some Prefect I am." Ginny laughed.  
  
"No, you were just keeping all of us who weren't already asleep awake. I was the one nominated to come down and try to shut you two up, since no one knew where your normal keeper was." She shot Harry a grin.  
  
"Our KEEPER? What do you mean by that?" Ginny blew a kiss, and started to head up the stairs.  
  
"You're a smart boy, Ron. I'm sure you'll figure it out." And she disappeared before her older brother could kill her, her red hair flying.  
  
Ron was muttering something under his breath, so Harry turned to Hermione.  
  
"What was that all about? Not like it really matters. Guys, I just found out why I was born to be target practice for Voldemort."  
  
This had the instant effect of cooling Ron's temper, and piquing Hermione's curiosity to the point that she forgot about the argument.  
  
"Well, don't just stand there and be mysterious. Tell us!" Ron settled back into one of the comfy armchairs, and Hermione cuddled in with him. They looked like two children waiting to be told a story. They weren't disappointed. Harry told them the story, and both sat, shell shocked, at the end of it.  
  
"So, let me get this straight. The entire Potter line are direct descendants of all FOUR founders?" Hermione asked, amazed.  
  
"So I'm told. But that sure would explain a few things, wouldn't it?" Both of Harry's best friends nodded wordlessly. Now that they knew why Harry always seemed to have everything happen to him, they had to concentrate on the spell. And that involved deciding on the adult that would participate. But that could wait until tomorrow. It was late, and they were tired. Harry went upstairs and went to bed. Ron followed soon after. A deceptive quiet settled over Hogwarts for the remainder of the night.  
  
  
  
A/N- Once again, THANK YOU to all my absolutely wonderful reviewers! I really appreciate you guys! Now, though someone has expressed distaste for this method, I'm going to keep it up anyway. Could I please have 115 reviews? I'll post when we hit that or in three days. After all, I need to write chapter 13, now don't I? Thanks everyone! 


	13. Of Quidditch Tales and Biting Nails

Chapter 13- Of Quidditch Tales and Biting Nails  
  
A/N- Well, here it is, the long awaited (I hope) Chapter 13. I hope it lives up to your expectations, everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. Soon I'll have a chapter up with nothing but specific answers to individual query. At the moment, I'm concentrating on this story. My others are being horribly neglected. Bad Celtic, Bad! Oh, the voices are back. I need to get some sleep. *Gives Maniacal Grin* Erm… Well. Enjoy the chapter while I got take my medicine.  
  
Disclaimer- I wanted to keep it, but my mummy wouldn't let me. She gave it to JKR, instead. Something about lawyers.  
  
  
  
The next morning, Ron and Hermione met Harry at the breakfast table, and the three of them grabbed some toast to eat their breakfast out by the lake. It was a beautiful early autumn day, and many other students were taking advantage of it was well. It made it far easier for the Trinity to discuss important things, like the spell that they would all be taking part in. Harry still wasn't really sure whom to pick as the last adult. He had to have someone that he trusted completely. Truth be told, he was glad Dumbledore had ruled his parents out for him. He didn't really know them all that well, even if they had spent a lot of time with him since being returned to the world of the living. He actually had it narrowed down to three choices.  
  
"So, Guys, who do you think I should pick?" He asked as the three lazily walked around the lake. It was Saturday, so they didn't have to worry about being back inside in time for class. They were happy just to wander around in the sun.  
  
"Who have you got left as candidates, Harry?" Asked Ron, trying to skip a pebble across the lake. It fell in with a plunk. Hermione grinned at him, and sent her pebble skimming halfway across.  
  
"Well, So far it's either McGonnagal, Lupin, Sirius, or your Mum, Ron. It would have been Hagrid hands down, but he doesn't know enough magic to do it. " Harry took out his wand, and using "Wingardium Leviosa" sent a whole shower of pebbles zipping across the lake. The other two, who had been in a fierce competition to see whose pebble would skip the farthest, laughed as they flopped out on the dewy grass. Harry continued munching on his toast, and then conjured a blanket for them to sit on.  
  
"No sense in getting my cloak dirty. I've got Quidditch practice tonight. Hey, Ron, are you trying for keeper?" He asked, suddenly reminded of just why he had Quidditch practice. It was the final practice before they played Slytherin in the season opener, and they still had to find a decent keeper.  
  
"Pretty much have to, don't I? I mean, we can't forfeit to Slytherin, for crying out loud." Ron said, with intense loathing on his face. Hermione noticed that Harry had quite efficiently turned the talk away from Voldemort, and himself. He was good at that.  
  
"Be that as it may, Harry, you do have to decide on your last person." She said, her bossy tone not quite hiding her concern. Her tirade was broken short by a flock of four owls heading toward them. Two stopped at Harry, one at Ron and the last at Hermione. They each untied their letters, or in Hermione's case, her Daily Prophet, and stopped to read.  
  
"We have to head back up to the castle, guys. Malfoy has agreed. We need to start the potion that accompanies the spell today." Harry said, right after reading the missive attached to Hedwig's leg.  
  
"What does the other note say?" Hermione asked as she picked herself up from the grass and dusted herself off.  
  
"You know, I'm not quite sure." Harry replied as he, too, got up and folded up the blanket only he used. He stopped and opened it.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
We have been watching your past Quidditch matches, and have decided that you will be the one to fill the vacant position of Captain for the Gryffindor Team this season. Your match with Slytherin has been delayed so that you may select a new keeper. They will play Hufflepuff instead. Congratulations, Harry. Make us proud.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Professors McGonagall and Hootch.  
  
  
  
"Well?" Asked Ron, as they were now all trotting back up to the castle.  
  
"I'm Quidditch Captain." Harry said, his excitement showing in both movement and voice.  
  
"Way to go! But aren't they letting you know a bit late? After all, we play Slytherin in two days! How can they expect us to get trained up by then?" Ron asked.  
  
"That's the beauty of it. We've got a postponement in order to get our team back up to snuff." Harry was smiling, despite the enormity of the task he was facing once they got to Dumbledore's office.  
  
"So who are you picking? You're going to need them for this potion, after all." Hermione reminded him. Harry stopped in mid-step, causing Ron to run right into him.  
  
"I think I'm going to pick Sirius. After all, I do trust him with my life." Hermione hid a private smile. Like they hadn't known all along. She moved next to Ron, and slipped her hand into his. She felt his fingers tighten around hers, and the three started walking again.  
  
When they reached Dumbledore's office, Harry realized that he didn't know the password once again. Just as he was about to start shouting sweets at the gargoyle, Ron pulled out the Marauder's Map. Harry grinned at him. "So that's why you two were up so late last night. You think I didn't hear you sneak back out again, mate?" The couple turned a rather becoming shade of pink as Harry checked the Map. The little figures labeled "Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter" were ticking the gargoyle's feet. Pocketing the map, harry bent over and ran his index finger over the cement toes. The Gargoyle giggled, and Jumped out of the way. The three made their way up the stairs and into the office, where Dumbledore, Malfoy and Snape were waiting for them.  
  
"Harry, first I need to ask you if you have chosen your last spell caster yet. Remember, it is of the utmost importance that you choose properly for this. He or She can only be someone whom you have no doubts about whatsoever." Dumbledore looked at him with piercing blue eyes. Harry looked right back at him, his green eyes boring into the headmasters.  
  
"I have chosen my godfather, Sirius Black. I have no doubts or concerns about him." Harry stated clearly and concisely, and a tad formally considering who he was talking to.  
  
'Good, he knows how serious this is. Not like there was much doubt in the first place.' Dumbledore thought, before turning to the group.  
  
"All right Harry, I believe that you have made an excellent choice. Now, I must summon him, so I'm afraid that you five need to make yourselves comfortable for now. This should help." He conjured large plates of cookies and eclairs, ignoring the fact that everyone had only just finished their breakfasts. He waved his wand again, and a chessboard appeared. He winked at Ron.  
  
"Now, if anyone else has something they'd like while we are waiting, you may summon it from your dormitories." They nodded. Malfoy and Hermione both summoned what looked like Diaries. Ron looked at Harry, and they both just barely managed to keep from laughing. Both had known about Hermione's enchanted diary since first year, but he was willing to bet that no one except themselves had ever known that Malfoy had one, too. He refused to look up, but his pale face was slowly starting to turn red. Ron and Harry settled themselves over the chessboard, and the group sat down to wait for Sirius to arrive.  
  
"You know, Harry, If you had decided last night we could be outside right now." Hermione said, looking up from her diary.  
  
"Shove off, 'Mione. You heard Dumbledore say how important it was that he picked right." Ron said absently, as he contemplated his next move.  
  
In the corner, Malfoy sighed. It was certainly going to be tedious waiting for the Headmaster to get back. After all, look at who he had for company. Snape saw the look on his favorite student's face and laughed. He felt exactly the same way.  
  
A/N- I avoided the padded room to give you this, so be proud- anyway, you will notice that there is no cliffhanger at the end of this chapter! Hooray for me! Honestly, I agree that they were getting a bit tiresome. Trying to lay off them for a while. So, to reward me, could I possibly have 125 reviews? Please? *Gives most innocent face a deranged sleep deprived college student can* Thanks! I'll post in three days regardless. For all those who don't really like this method, please refer to my profile. And no, I am NOT rude in it. Honest. 


	14. Reasons

A/N- Well, people, here is chapter fourteen. I think we're getting closer to the climax! Yay for me! I thought this was going to become a full length novel (100,000 words) but it appears that my muse has remembered that this is a fanfic- not a book. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far- I doubt that I would have made it this far without you.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry and Ron gave the appearance of being completely involved in their chess game, but were actually attempting to NOT use all sorts of weird and wonderful hexes and curses on Malfoy. This wasn't a good idea for two reasons- 1. Snape was sitting right there, and they didn't want to lose more points for Gryffindor then any other two students in history, and 2. They really needed Ferret-boys help to defeat Voldemort, since Harry didn't really have many enemies that would actually agree to help.  
  
Hermione was engrossed in her diary, as was Malfoy. Snape's presence seemed to be keeping both of them out of an outright insult fight. Every once in a while one of them would look up and glare at the other, but that was as far as it went. An hour passed, and then two. Ron and Harry finished their games, and took a break. Harry started to contemplate everything that was happening. He knew that their had to be some sort of risk involved in all of this. You didn't, after all, banish the worlds most powerful Dark Wizard without a large dose of risk. But was it for him, or was it for everyone?  
  
Before he had time to explore that thought further, Dumbledore came in. Sirius was right behind him. Harry reflected quickly on his choice. It was the obvious one, but Harry was really hoping that the bitterness in Sirius's soul that still remained from his time in Azkaban would not negatively effect the spell. He still wondered why his parents were tainted by their experiences, but not Sirius. Or Lupin, for that matter. After all, Lupin was a werewolf, no matter how much he fought with it. Crimson would have been a good choice except for the fact that Harry didn't know her very well. That wasn't something that inspired lot's of trust.  
  
Dumbledore motioned for them to stay sitting, and Sirius sat down next to Harry while simultaneously glaring at Snape. It would have been comical if the situation wasn't so grave. Dumbledore began to speak.  
  
"You all know why you are here. You all have your own reasons for being here. But if this spell is to work correctly, we must all trust each other. I know that this is acting a lot, which is precisely why the spell calls for two enemies. The greatest power is divined when enemies come to terms. This is the way we're going to work this- everyone here is going to state their true reasons for being here. I am not going to use Veritaserum, since we all need our strength. Harry, we will start with you."  
  
Harry's green eyes became hard, like two chips of emerald. "I have been fighting Voldemort for too long. He has killed, wounded, and mad more people suffer then anyone else in the last five hundred years. I have the power to destroy him. Destroy him I will." Everyone in the room was more then slightly uncomfortable as Harry's voice became sharper then obsidian.  
  
"Mr. Weasley, you next, please." Dumbledore requested.  
  
"I'm here because Voldemort must be stopped, and Harry needs help." Ron said simply.  
  
"Miss Granger."  
  
"I have to keep my family safe. I don't want to live in fear any longer. Voldemort is going down, and Harry needs my help to do it."  
  
He then turned to Sirius.  
  
"The snake has caused me more pain, and more years of my life then I care to recall. He will pay for that, but he will pay more for what he had done to our world." He looked more like the mass murderer that he was accused of being at that moment then he ever had before.  
  
Dumbledore nodded, and moved on. "Severus."  
  
Snape looked at Dumbledore, and sighed. He didn't want to expose this.  
  
"I must avenge the death of the lady I love. He took her from this world once, even if she was never mine." The confession over, he leaned back into his chair, looking even more surly then usual.  
  
"Draco."  
  
"My father chose the wrong path. I don't want it. I hate the thought of wanton killing. I'm an ass, and I mean, and I LIKE being an ass and mean, but killing and torturing is too far. If Voldemort stays, I will fully become my father's son." The boy's silver eyes were strangely mature. Not even Ron doubted him.  
  
"And it has finally come to me. I was entrusted with this task when my father left off. I will see it through. The last time this spell was used was when I defeated Grindlewald in 1945. I was the one with the blood bond then." Harry looked up.  
  
"You mean that he raised himself the same way Voldemort did? Then why were you not aware of that spell?" He asked carefully. He was starting to suspect he might have been bait, and he didn't like that idea much.  
  
"There are all types of blood bonds, Harry. Mine to Grindlewald was very different then yours to Voldemort. Grindlewald, you see, was my brother."  
  
As shocked faces turned towards the headmaster, they saw a very old looking man. "And now you have my reasons. I do not tolerate darkness. Not at all." They assembled people realized that this was not a good time for questions. They sat back to listen as the spell, and each of their parts in it, was explained. It was immensely complicated. It involved invocations of a blood linking charm, along with incantations and a joining of all seven wands in a star formation. Then Harry had to trace a final banishing Pentagram in a special potion on the floor with his wand, while saying the final incantation. Since this was a blood spell, the primary ingredient of the potion was blood. Seven drops from each of the seven casters. None of them were surprised at this revelation, but it mad already grim faces set in determination. There was too much on the line for everyone, there was no way they could fail.  
  
Dumbledore showed the students to a room attached to his office where they could talk. They would be performing the spell the next day, as Snape had to brew the potion. Before leaving, each person used a small silver dagger to pierce the crook of their arm, and counted seven drops in blood into a labeled vial. The vials merely had "Friend one" or "Enemy 2" on them in case they were discovered. Draco would not survive long if anyone in his house had found out he assisted in the destruction of Voldemort. Now, all they could do was wait for morning. The immensity of what they were doing weighed on them, and none of them engaged in petty squabbles before eating the dinner provided and going to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an eventful day- for better or worse.  
  
A/N- Look! Once again I refrained from a cliffhanger. Next chapter you may not be so lucky. Just to clear something up here- when I ask for reviews, I mean total- and in addition to. And I am asking, not demanding. If you don't think it rates a review, then that's your choice. However, I'm here to ask you to PLEASE let me have 135 reviews? Please? You won't regret it. Next chapter is three days or when we hit the magic number. You all know the drill. –Celtic Ember 


	15. The Spell

A/N- Here it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for- Or so I hope. I stayed up late once again to get this out to you, so I hope you all enjoy it. This chapter moved so fast that my fingers could barely keep up with my brain. It's a long one, too!  
  
  
  
The new day dawned bright and clear, mother nature seemingly giving her blessing on the earth changing events about to take place. All four students had been sequestered in the room off Dumbledore's for the night. When they awoke, a steaming thermos of Hot Chocolate awaited them, along with a full meal of French toast with Canadian maple syrup, sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, the works. It seemed that the house elves had outdone themselves. Hermione looked annoyed when she realized how much extra work the house elves must have gone to in order to supply them with this, but the beautiful smells wafting over to her drew her over where the boys were eating. They were all so busy eating they couldn't fight with each other. After they finished, Hermione withdrew behind her curtains to change. None of the boys really cared, so after making Hermione promise not to come out, they changed in the main part of the dorm.  
  
"Not like she hasn't seen that white chest of yours already anyway, Weasley." Draco mocked. Ron's ears turned bright red, but Harry didn't need to hold him back from pummeling Malfoy. He was to aware that they NEEDED him, as sickening as it was. He contented himself with answering in kind.  
  
"Well, I don't think my chest is as white as you're ferret fur, Malfoy. After all, it mirrored your complexion to a T." Harry laughed, Hermione giggled from behind her curtain, and Malfoy turned an interesting array of colors, starting at pink and working himself through red, purple, and violet before turning an alarming shade of violent purple. Ron and Harry watched with interest.  
  
"Think he'll die of Apoplexy?" Harry asked, a little too hopeful sounding.  
  
"Nah, we wouldn't be that unlucky. We need him now. Later, maybe, but not now." Ron responded. The two turned away and finished putting on their robes. Malfoy glared resentfully at them, and finished changing into his.  
  
'One day. One day, they'll get theirs. I just hope I'm around to see it.' He thought. 'Or give it to them.' He added maliciously, the funny purple color draining from his pale face. He conveniently forgot he started the insult trade in the first place.  
  
Malfoy' mental meanderings of revenge were interrupted by Snape, who walked in with Harry's parents hot on his heels. He announced that the potion was ready, and Hermione, Ron and Malfoy followed him out of the room, leaving Harry alone with his parents.  
  
"Hiya. I'm glad you two came up. In case anything screwy happens today, I want you two to know that I love you. All right? And don't worry, I'm not normally this sappy. I just have a funny feeling that this spell has more consequences then Dumbledore is letting on." He gave a brave smile, trying to show his parents that he really didn't care, he was going to do it anyway. It was incredibly important that he do so, but he didn't know why. 'Maybe so their last memory isn't of a coward.' A little voice in the back of his head said. Harry pushed the thought away. He found himself enveloped in strong arms, and then in his mother's scent, as he fought to keep control.  
  
"I'll see you two in a couple of hours, all right? Wish me luck." He grinned at them, and followed the others out of the room. It was time to end this once and for all. He didn't look back to see the tears shining on Lily's face, or the grim set of James's jaw as they were forced to allow their only child to willingly put himself in danger once again. He couldn't look back, or they would see the two single tears trailing down his face as he left them alone once more.  
  
He found the other six waiting for him in the center of Dumbledore's office. All the furniture had been cleared away, and there was now room for all of them to stand in a circle, with seven white candles in between them. Dumbledore cast a warding spell to protect the rest of the castle, and then cast unbreakable lock charms on all the doors and windows. All understood the need for these precautions, but no one liked it much. There was no turning back now that the potion was complete. It sat innocent looking just outside the circle to Harry's right, were he could reach it without leaving his place. All seven carried their wands. One last spell was cast to allow everyone to see the spell hanging in the air, like a giant script. They could try this only once, and no one could mess up. If they did, Voldemort would absorb Harry's power, rather then Harry destroying the evil wizard. No one would survive for very long if that happened.  
  
Finally, they were ready. Dumbledore nodded, and then began his opening for the spell.  
  
"With demon's hand, and wizard's pain, the blood that links you now will you gain." He placed his wand on Harry's forehead, causing Harry's scar to glow red. Strangely, it didn't really hurt. Or if it did, Harry was so adept at ignoring it he didn't really notice. It was obvious that the link was made when Harry began to glow, his aura became an odd motley of four different colors. His eyes began to glow greener then the Avada Kedavra curse. This was more then slightly discomfiting, but Dumbledore had warned them about it before it happened, so they kept up their places without pausing. Ron and Hermione jointly began to read their part. Luckily, it was in English, because neither of them were very good at on the spot pronunciation. Hermione thought that Dumbledore was probably translating it for them as they went.  
  
"We knowingly join the right side, the light side. We will die to support it. Harry is our blood friend, and never shall we be parted. We will prevail. You're power means nothing to those who aren't weak." After speaking this declaration, the two joined hands, and chanted "Eskanta Bannik, Eskanta Eternium" Screams were staring to sear the air around them, sounds of hundreds of people dying at the hands of an unstoppable assailant. Voldemort was feeling his victims, and because of that, Harry was forced to hear his mother die all over again, along with thousands, millions of others. Everyone else could hear the shrieking voices as well, since they were all linked to Harry. All flinched, but none backed down.  
  
It was time for Draco and Snape to say their part.  
  
"We knowingly join the right side, the light side. We will die to support it. We are mortal enemies, and yet we stand on the same side as the bonded. We will prevail. Your power means nothing to those who aren't weak." Once more, the chant "Eskanta Bannik, Eskanta Eternium" was heard, two tenor voices blending in with the alto and the tenor already chanting. Dumbledore and Sirius were now to complete the next part, after which it would be Harry's turn to complete the spell. It would only be complete when the screams around them subsided, and Harry stopped levitating three inches above the ground. He seemed strangely isolated in the dark of the office, even with the strange, ancient magic taking place there.  
  
"We knowingly join the right side, the light side. We will die to support it. We are the trusted, the advisors to the bonded. Since his trust is strong we shall not fail. We will prevail. Your power means nothing to those who aren't weak." Two more voices joined in the chanted. A wind started to stir on it's own accord, and a specter of Voldemort now hung in the air. His snakelike face was long and drawn, his slitted red eyes showed fear and pain. No sound could be heard from him, but his lipless mouth shaped the words of the damned. Harry, oblivious to him, floated into the center of the circle. Ron and Hermione, who were on either side of him, quickly moved to fill the gap. The six people on the outside cast their final part, while still speaking the chant, and a cage of blood red light appeared around the edges of their circle. Harry, his eyes glowing more with each second, seemed bright enough to light the whole room. He took the little bottle of potion, and poured it into the very center of the circle. Lighting his wand by thought alone, he put every ounce of power he could muster into tracing the banishment Pentagram and the invocation he said.  
  
"I knowingly join the right side, the light side. I will die to support it. I am the blood bonded, joined by your greed. I am the one to force payment for your crimes. You're body has been torn from you once more. I banish you're wraith to oblivion. I will prevail. Your power means nothing to those who aren't weak." A final voice joined in the chanting. The voice Harry spoke in was not his own. It was deeper, and seemed to emanate power. Everyone realized that they didn't know this person. They didn't really know him at all.  
  
With a final, tearing scream that pierced the day, the voices of Voldemort's victims began to fade. Still the cage remained, and still the seven spoke, their voices becoming raw from over use. Everything faded more and more, until finally, it stopped. The wind howling in everyone's ears abruptly ceased, and Harry crumpled into a ball in the middle of the office floor. The potion had all evaporated, leaving no sign of the magic that had just taken place.  
  
A/N- Well, what did you think? I really enjoyed typing this chapter. I could see it happening in my head, and all I really needed to do was decribe it to you. Kind of odd, huh? I really need to get more sleep! Anyway, same format as before. But, since this was such a long chapter, and a good one at that, could I please have 150 reviews total? It would REALLY make my week! Not being picky, though. I'll still post without them- you'll just have to wait three days. Note- the cliffie was minor! Be proud! 


	16. The End

A/N- I hope you enjoyed the story. This chapter is short, but it ends the story. I'm sorry, but I am one of those lucky people who doesn't have AOL. Enjoy this chapter!  
  
  
  
Once again, Harry woke up in the hospital wing. Once again, absolutely everyone he loved was clustered around him. He was really getting sick of ending up under Madame Pomfrey's watchful eye all the time. The first words out of his mouth were "did it work?"  
  
Sirius, who looked pale and tired, was the only person that heard him. The others were engaged in a debate about who was going to have to prove that Voldemort had been defeated again, and not defeated previously.  
  
He turned to his godson and smiled. "Yes, Harry, we managed to kill him for good. Even the wraith was killed during it's banishment to another plain. There is no way for him to return.  
  
Harry smiled as the others stopped what they were saying, and rushed over to his bedside. When they started to ask questions, he interrupted them all.  
  
"I'm FINE! Completely! Now, how long have I been out?" He asked, grinning at them all.  
  
"About three days this time. We were starting to get worried, but Madam Pomfrey assured us that you just short circuited yourself for a while, and would wake up when you were ready." Hermione replied, smiling down at him. She and Ron had been taking turns skipping classes in order to have one of them next to him when he woke up. Ron was going to be mad when he found out Harry had woken on Hermione's shift, and not his own. His parents had been trading off with Sirius and Remus to make sure that one of them was there when harry woke up, as well. Needless to say, this had tipped off the school that Famous Harry Potter had been doing something dangerous again, and had once again landed himself unconscious in the hospital wing. Most figured that it probably had something to do with You- Know-Who, but none were absolutely sure. Even the Slytherins who had become death eaters weren't completely sure what had happened, only that the newly burned marks on their arms had disappeared. In short, everyone was waiting for Harry to leave the hospital wing and tackle them to find out what happened. Draco, Hermione and Ron had very carefully not told anyone about what happened, since they really didn't want to be plastered in the kind of attention that Harry got.  
  
The matron walked over to Harry, checked him over, and let him out with the strict instructions not to go off and do anything dangerous. Harry just gave her a saucy grin and walked out. Now, hopefully, he wouldn't be in here unless it had something to do with a Quidditch injury. Everyone who was in the infirmary trooped down to Harry's parents rooms. Lily opened the door, and they headed in. A party instantly erupted, with everyone cheering and drinking vast quantities of butterbeer. Dobby the house elf appeared with a large tray of food for everyone, and quickly retreated. They only quieted down for a moment, and that was to fire-call James in the DADA classroom and Remus from Dumbledore's office, where he had been filling in for Lily. Since Snape was back, he had retaken his potion's class, much to everyone but the Slytherin's bitter disappointment. Remus quickly joined the fray, but James had to wind up his class. Lily then fire-called Snape, who had his fifth year Gryffindor/Slytherin class, and asked for him, Ron and Draco to please report to the Potter's rooms after class. Ron looked at Malfoy for the first time in complete agreement. Apparently, it was unanimous. Snape dismissed the class early, and all three headed to the party.  
  
When they got there, everything was in full swing. They reached the doors at the same time as James, who opened the door just in time to get hit with A Filibuster Firework. Dumbledore didn't join them. He was busy organizing a similar, albeit larger, party for the entire school.  
  
The party calmed down about midnight, and the talk turned to Quidditch. Ron and Harry were very excited about it, and couldn't wait for their first practice as an actual team. Fred and George had taken upon themselves to hold Keeper tryouts while Harry was unconscious, and Ron had one, hands down. Harry had tentatively scheduled practice for Seven PM and Six Am, on alternating days. That way they could reach form before their first match. Now that the spectre of Voldemort was gone, it looked like life was finally going to be normal. Or, as normal as life could be when it involved Hogwarts, Revived parents, and a young teenager with bright green eyes, and a scar.  
  
A/N- Well, I believe that this is the ending. I doubt there will be a sequel to this one, but you never know. The next story that I will be updating is 'Dreams of Memories', which I actually started long before I started this one. After that will be the sequel to We'll meet again. Don't know were I'm going from there. Remember to review! If you do, I'll have another chapter of Dreams up within three days- will that make you all happy? (J/K- I'll have the next chapter of that up really soon, anyway.) 


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